Twelve Angry People
by Dakari-King Mykan
Summary: A remake of 12 angry men it's all Dialouge no action: All 12 of the DD are forced onto a jury where they must decide the fate of a boy accused of murding his dad's Digimon by 1st degree, and his father by 2nd degree, but all is not as clear as it is
1. Prolouge: The Jury

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_Author's Disclaim:_

_**I don't own the rights to any 12 angry men production, nor Digimon.**_

_**"There… Happy now Caboose?!"**_

**PROLOUGE**

It has been ten years since Maylo-Myotismon had been defeated and peace finally restored to the Digital world. The twelve Digi-destined had grown up a lot since then, and changed a bit too as they matured as adults; all of them college graduates and seeking out their dream goals.

Tai was becoming a diplomat, and had been offered jobs in many fine agencies. He was trying to decide which the best was. He also even married Davis' older sister Jun., though for the life of none of the others knew why…

"You just don't know her like I do…"

_Davis' sister had matured a lot, and went to medical school. She was now a fine young doctor and chief of the women's medical staff too. She and Tai were expecting their first child soon._

Matt and Sora were married too, and Sora had become a fine fashion-designer where she and Biyomon made their own set of clothes. Matt on the other hand had been appointed as an

astronaut, and had just returned from very first ever trip to the moon… only he could've done better not having to come back and catch a cold.

Mimi moved back to Japan years back, and she and Michael really seemed to be hitting it on. Michael worked as the set decorator behind Mimi's new cooking show. The others were constantly waiting for Michael to pop the question to her.

Joe was coming along fine too. The guy who started out as a kid who wet his pants over his own shadow was now a mature young man and a fine doctor as well. He was very calculated in his situations these days and tried his best never to overlook anything.

Izzy was still the harebrained genius everyone knew and loved. He and his wife had just opened up their very first computer-lab where they continued to study the Digital world. They too were also expecting their first child soon.

Cody was attending law school to become an attorney, and he had sat on a few juries to help him study cases. He was no longer a stuck-up and stubborn guy, and he learned to use his grandfather's old ways of judging people wisely.

Yolei and Ken were married, and some were calling Yolei a fortune teller as she once had admitted she wanted to marry Ken. She still ran her family's convenience store but was really looking forward to being a normal housewife, still… she wasn't ready for kids yet, and neither was Ken who was working with the police to become a detective.

TK was working to become a novelist, and his penname was "Hope May Kar" The name was his girlfriend's idea. TK was a fine guy, but he still tended to lose his head every now and then when it came to evil and injustice.

Davis and Kari… Well no believed how, or why it was happening, but they were getting hitched pretty soon. Davis had changed a lot over the years, and was not as obnoxious as he used to be. Apart from being known as the most invincible Digi-destined in the world, who never let anything get him down, Davis opened his first Noodle stand which by now had evolved into a chain of stands, carts, and restaurants, and that made him a lot of money.

Kari however had become a preschool teacher, and her hair had grown longer too. Some say she was marrying Davis because of his money, but that wasn't it at all! They began dating a long time ago in high school. _Davis wanted to prove himself worthy to Kari and he did._ _Kari fell hard and fast…_

…

Yes our friend had really grown up and matured a lot, but today however they were all called into court as a jury…

Ever since ten years ago, the Digital world had been accepted into a normal society and a place held-up by the laws of humans and Digimon. To ensure that evil, and crime was kept a low level, the laws of civilization were called into action; the Laws of the real world now applied to the laws of the Digital-world as well.

If anyone, human or Digimon alike, were to commit a crime; theft, murder, and all that stuff, that person or Digimon would be punished by law and order. Humans would stick to their own ways, and Digimon would have trials run by Digimon, but still obey the laws.

Today was one of the most serious of charges. An eighteen year-old punk kid was accused of murdering his father's Digimon-partner in the first degree, which ended up in having his father die of a broken heart, a second degree murder charge. That Digimon was destroyed, but was able to be reconfigured, but the father was dead. Regardless these charges were not going un-noticed.

A murder was a murder, and today the trial was being held to decide what was to be done with the boy. All twelve of the original Dig destined was called to act as the jury as they were all the greatest in the world. Michael and Willis were there to serve as alternates, in case any of the others needed to be substituted.

The cases were presented, and so was all the evidence, which included a _small revolver,_ one like the kind many punk kids would be seen with.

The only two eye witnesses called to the stand consisted of an old man, _whom everyone noticed was walking with a cane and dragging his left leg due to him having a stroke a year ago._

The second was a middle-aged woman, who lived across the street form the boy's apartment. She was making desperate efforts to make herself look young and pretty as this was her first public appearance and she was shamed by her looks. _She also seemed to be rubbing the side of her nose a lot, though it was never questioned why._

Now it had reached the point where the judge was explaining to the Digi-destined about what they were to do…

"To continue…" he said deeply yet clearly. "You've all listened to a long and complex case, murder in the first and second degree. These are the most serious of offences mankind has known to date."

"You've all listened to the testimony, and have the laws read and interpreted as it applies to the case. Now it shall be your duty as a jury to sit down, talk, and use the best of your judgment and mental abilities to separate the facts from the fancy. One man is dead… His Digimon Partner is still dead, and now another man's life is at stake."

"If there is a reasonable doubt in your minds as to the guilt of the accused, then you must bring me a verdict of Not Guilty. If, however, you have no reasonable doubt, then you must in good conscience, find the accused Guilty."

"However whichever way you decide, in a case like this your verdict must be unanimous. If in the event you do not, the trial will have to be repeated with a new selective jury. In the event if you should find the accused Not Guilty, there the accused shall be released with a complete pardon, and eventually further details will need to be verified."

"But if… in the event you find the accused Guilty, the bench will entertain no mercy, and no privileges. The in the cases of first and second-degree murder such as these… I'm afraid that the mandatory sentence is death!"

There was a brief pause of silence in the courtroom as those who had gathered there gasped in fear. All fourteen of the Digi Destined gazed upon the accused each with different feelings and judgment… some even more serious than others, _particularly TK, Joe, and Matt._

The judge sighed heavily and stated. "You are all faced with a very grave, and difficult responsibility. That will be all, thank you folks."

With that, the bailiff stood up, and told Michael and Willis. "As you two alternate jurors are no longer needed, you two men are excused." Michael Willis were both disappointed, but they wished the others luck as they got up and left. As for the other twelve, "The jury will now retire."

With that, all twelve of the Dig Destined got up from their respective seats in the jury-stand and began to leave the room, each pausing only a moment to gaze back the teenaged boy who seemed frightened out of his head, and tears in his eyes.

It was now up to all twelve of those people leaving the courtroom to decide whether he would go free… or be sentenced to death.

_**TWELVE ANGRY PEOPLE!**_

_**Starring**_

_**Davis Motomiya as Juror #8**_

_**With**_

_**TK Takashi as Juror #3**_

_**Matt Ishida as Juror #10**_

_**Joe Idha as Juror #4**_

_**Tai Kaymiya as Juror #7**_

_**And**_

_**Izzy Izumi as Juror #1**_

_**Mimi Tachikawa as Juror #2**_

_**Kari Kaymiya as Juror #5**_

_**Sora Takenouchi/Ishida as Juror #6**_

_**Cody Hida as Juror #9**_

_**Ken Ichijouchi as Juror #11**_

**_Yolei Inoue/Ichijouchi as Juror #12_**

* * *

_**Author's notes:**_

_**Now like I said… this is going to be all talk, no action or stuff like that.**_

_**Also, I gave each DD their respective role through a judgment of fairness based on their character, and the characters of the jurors they play.**_

_**Also… as they are all adults now, and they've GROWN UP AND CHANGED a little… that means they will have to act OOC, that's necessary, as well as mandatory when growing up.**_


	2. There's always one

**CHAPTER ONE**

It was very hot day, the kind where you should be outside and enjoying yourself, and where were all twelve of the Digi Destined? They were piling into a standard Jury-Room in the courthouse.

Twelve seats were place around a large table in the middle of the room, five on each side, and one each at the head and back.

The air conditioning was malfunctioning that day and was out of action, but at least there was a water cooler, and the windows could open to let in some air. There were also Men and Women's bathrooms in the back, where Cody had disappeared too instantly after holding it in for so long. Finally there was a coat-closest in case anyone wanted to take off their jackets, or hang up other things.

Tai, Davis and Sora opened each of the windows and took a breath of fresh air. "Whew! Man! You know what…?" Tai said. "I checked the weather this morning, and this is officially dubbed as the hottest day of the year."

Sora wiped her brow with a tissue. "You said it. I hope the air-conditioning kicks in soon." she said. "Maybe I should design a fashion-wear in which sweat actually cleans the suit."

The two shared a laugh…

The bailiff had finished doing the role count. "Alright folks, everyone's present. Now just remember I'll be right outside the door if you need anything, just knock."

With that, he left out the door to the Jury-Room and locked it, much to Kari's surprise. "Gee… I never knew they locked door." she said to Matt.

Matt rubbed his slightly stuffed-nose with his Kleenex. "Yeah… they lock it alright." he said. "It's like we have to stay in here until we reach a verdict or something. Oh wait, that's just it."

They shared a laugh, and then they noticed Izzy, who was acting as the Jury foremen at the head of the table as he was the smartest, was tearing up little cards of paper. "What? Oh this…?" he asked. "Oh, I figured maybe we might want to vote by ballot. You know the old fashioned way?"

Matt chuckled "I guess something never change." Then he coughed slightly. "What's the matter Matt, you still recovering from that cold?" Tai asked.

"And how…" Matt answered. "At least that drug Joe prescribed kicked in great."

"Well just remember not to overuse it." Joe warned him, "It might end you up acting all loud-mouth and pushy like you used to be."

"Aw come on, now…" Matt said. "I can take it…" but everyone else rolled their eyes and sighed. Matt was right, some thing just never changed.

As everyone else continued to pace round the room chatting, TK sat down beside Mimi. "Hey, what's up?" he said kindly to her.

Mimi giggled, and sweated a little partially because of the heat. "Oh, I don't know… I've never been on a jury before. I'm like scared and excited all at the same time."

As wiped his eyes, "I almost fell asleep in there. I don't need have gone to law school to see that's its just an open-an-closed case. Piece of cake…"

Mimi wasn't concerned there, "Well, everyone's entitled to an opinion."

"Yeah, but when are they going to actually mean anything at all. Boy, I'd like to slap all those evil creeps away so none of this ever happens" replied TK. "Ah, come on lets get started here."

Many of the others agreed, but Izzy wasn't ready yet. "We should wait first… Cody's still in the bathroom…we should wait for him."

Everyone agreed, ad decided to wait on it.

Yolei crossed over to Davis, who was still standing near the window with a queer look on his face as if he was really deep in thought. "You feeling okay?" she asked.

Davis looked up, "Yeah… yeah I'm fine." he answered.

Yolei explained that she didn't know why, but she felt glad to be on the jury for a murder case. "It'll give me and Ken a story to tell our kids so they don't get messed up." she said. "Who knows… maybe you and Kari will tell that to your kids someday."

She laughed, and so did Kari. "Easy now Yolei, the marriage comes first." Kari said, then she cast a smile at Davis who smiled back at her, yet Kari could sense that Davis was being bothered by something.

Tai check his watch, "Oh, come on, Izzy! Are we going to get started here or what?"

"Well Cody's still in the bathroom." Izzy answered.

Ken could see that Tai was walking around in an impatient manner, and checking his watch a lot. "My detective skills conclude that you've got plans tonight?" he asked.

Tai was amazed at how smart Ken was, "You bet'cha I do." He answered. "Jun's working the night-shift at the hospital tonight, so I got a whole evening to myself." he reached into his suit-pocket. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I happen to have tickets tot hat soccer-game tonight. It promises to be a biggie."

After a while, Cody came out from the bathroom, and Izzy decided, "Okay guys, let's take our seats now." and at once everyone began to sit in around the table in order by jury-number.

1: Izzy…

2: Mimi…

3: TK…

4: Joe…

5: Kari…

6: Sora…

7: Tai…

8: Was Davis' seat…

9: Cody…

10: Matt…

11: Ken…

12: Yolei…

"Ahh reunited with my lost love." Ken Joked as he sat beside his wife. Yolei giggled, and they shared a quick kiss. "Uh, hey, guys… save that for later." Izzy suggested. "Okay now, is everyone here?"

"Davis…? Davis…!"

Davis turned and realized everyone else had taken their seats. "Sorry, I was miles away." He said as he took his seat between Cody and Tai.

"Heh…! You thinking about you and Kari huh, the end of the month...?" Tai joked. The other shared a soft yet playful giggle, Davis and Kari both blushed as it was true their wedding was at the end of the month.

Everyone then quieted down so Foremen Izzy could begin the debate. "Now you guys can handle this however you want, I'm just going to try and keep things organized." he explained. "Now, we can talk about it first before we vote on it… or if you'd prefer we can vote right now and then talk."

"Well, I think it would custom if we take a preliminary vote." Joe suggested. "That way we'll know where we stand and know where to talk about it."

"I'm up for that…" Tai said, and soon the other began to agree.

Izzy reminded everyone, that they were looking at a first and second degree murder charges, "And if we vote the accused Guilty… we have to send him to death by lethal injection. That's mandatory."

Seeing as how everyone was well aware of that, it was time to start voting, and everyone kept in mind that the vote, by law, had to be unanimous; whereas all twelve votes were the same. If even one vote was off, a verdict would not be passed.

"Now… all those voting Guilty, please raise your hands…" Izzy instructed. Everyone raised their hand, even Izzy did… _except for Davis who kept his hands down._ "Okay, that's eleven-Guilty." Izzy calculated. "And all those voting Not Guilty, raise your hands…"

Davis raised his hand, and everyone was staring at him as if he were the on trial. "That's Eleven-Guilty… One-Not Guilty." replied Izzy. "Well… at least know where we are now."

Matt couldn't help but chuckle mockingly at Davis for his vote. "Boy, oh, boy…! There's always one."

Tai shrugged his shoulders. "Well so much for that…" he said. "What do we do now?"

"I guess we talk about it…" Davis said.

TK gave Davis a queer look. "You really think he's innocent?"

Davis hesitated for a moment, and then admitted. "I… I don't know."

TK tried to convince Davis that this punk-kid was a dangerous killer, despite the fact that he was seventeen years old. "He killed his father's Digimon, and his father died after that from a heart attack… I mean what do you want out of this?"

"I just want to talk about it." Davis answered.

This was a first coming from Davis, a guy who used to hate even having family meetings. "Look I don't what the point is." Tai said. "The rest of us here think he's guilty. What do you believe his story…?"

Davis shook his head, "I don't know whether I believe it or not. Maybe I don't…" he paused a moment, "But the rest of you voted guilty, I can't just raise my hand and send a human being off to die like that without talking about it, I'm not that cruel a-guy."

"Hey, hey… no one said you were." replied Tai, and then he noticed Dais giving him a peculiar stare. "What, just because I voted fast…? I honestly think that kid is guilty. You won't change my mind if you yak on for a-million years."

Davis admitted that he wasn't trying to change anybody's mind. He also referred to the time when Ken was the Digimon Kaiser. _"Thanks for bringing that up again."_ and how Davis and the other accepted him differently.

"Look what's the difference here?" Tai asked. "I mean, suppose we sort this whole thing out in five minutes, even if we're wrong."

"Hey, ease up a bit…" Davis said. "You got lots of time. The game doesn't start until late tonight anyway."

Tai made himself comfortable, and soon everyone began to decide to let Davis have his moments. "Okay… well…" he paused to choose his words carefully. "Look… this guy was born in a slum. His mom died when he was little, his dad and his Digimon. In fact… he was sent to a foster home while his father was serving a jail-term for counterfeiting. He's been kicked around all his life… he's wild… he's angry… all this because his father was some whacked out nut who beat on him everyday. Don't you guys think we owe a few words…?"

Matt threw his used up tissue away, "Are you kidding?" he said, "We don't owe that kid anything at all. He got a fair trial and the way I see that's more than what he deserved." As he got up to get more tissues from his suit jacket in the closet, "Look, we heard the facts right? So why should believe that kid when he makes up a story like that. The way I see it, he's just like all the other kids before and after, nothing but born liars and menaces."

Cody looked Matt dead in the eyes as he got up from his seat, "Only an ignorant man can believe that." he said sternly.

"Now listen, Cody…"

But Cody continued by saying, "How would you like it if someone were to misjudge you all your life before anyone even got to know the real you?" then he motioned to the others. "I think certain things should be pointed out to him."

Tai broke up the fighting by saying, "Come on now, this isn't church, we don't need a social council."

"Okay, come on now, take it easy." added Izzy. "We have a job to do."

Matt and Cody calmed down and retook their seats, but Davis was still not up for changing his vote. What were the others to do?

_**Author's notes**_

_**Look I know this may be silly to end a chapter this way, but the plotting is very, vey long, and I'd like to try and not make the chapters entirely so big so people don't have to read so much at once. Plus it'll add to the suspense.**_


	3. Once around the room

**CHAPTER TWO**

Yolei and Ken were casually holding hands, and smiling at each other. "Uh, guys… do you mind?" Izzy asked in frustration.

"Oh, sorry…" Yolei said. "It's just that, this habit of Ken and I holding hands, it helps me think better."

Izzy couldn't object to that as much. "Well, now, Davis maybe if you tell us why you're disagreeing with us. Maybe we can help you figure where you're mixed up."

"Well I have an idea…" Yolei said, "Now I haven't given this much thought, but the way I see it it's up to the rest of us to show Davis that he's wrong and we're right. You know if we each took a turn to say our pieces?"

Izzy agreed to that. "Okay then, uh… let's go once around the table each." He said, "Uh… Mimi, I guess you're up first."

Mimi stuttered for a moment, "Well… uh, gee…" she paused. "Well… it's hard to figure out exactly how I should say this; I just think he's guilty. I mean I thought it was obvious from the start, and no one proved otherwise."

"Nobody has to prove otherwise…" said Davis. "From what I known and seen, the burden of proof is supposed to be on the prosecution. The defendant never even has to open his mouth, that's constitutional."

Mimi admitted that Davis was right about that, "But… all I'm saying is, I personally just think he's guilty. Somebody saw him do it, right? And that's all I've got…"

Seeing as how she had nothing else to say, TK decided to go ahead and take his turn. "Okay… now I don't want anyone to think I'm being mean, or I'm trying to pick a fight, I just want to talk about facts."

He pulled out his wallet where he kept a note of the facts he jotted down during the trial. "Now listen to this…" he replied. "The _old-man_ who lived next-door from the apartment where the killing took place…"

"At ten minutes after midnight on the night of the murder he swore he heard loud noises, it sounded like a fight between the boy, the father, and the Digimon… and he heard the kid yell out _"I'm going to kill you both"_ and a second later he heard a gunshot, then he ran to the door and saw the kid rushing for the stairs. He called the police, and they came just in time to see the Digimon with a bullet wound before he vaporized, and the father dead from a heart attack."

"Now… these are fact. You can't refuse facts, this guy is guilty. Now I'm just as compassionate as anyone else here. I know he's only seventeen… but it doesn't really matter. He still has to pay for what he did."

A lot of the others nodded their heads in agreement with TK's facts. To them, if someone intended to do the deed, they ought to be punished. "Are you finished, TK?" Izzy asked.

"Yeah I'm done…" TK answered. "It's your turn Joe."

Joe nodded his head, "Well from what I've heard, it seems obvious, to me anyway, the boy's entire story was a phony." he explained. "He claimed that he was at the movies during the time of the killing and yet later on he couldn't remember the movies he saw, or who starred in them. Nobody even saw him go in or out of the theater."

Matt continued to rub his nose; he coughed once and then said. "Well hey, what about that woman across the street? If she can't prove he's guilty, nothing can."

Ken nodded in agreement. "Yeah… she was the one who actually saw the murder committed." he said.

Izzy tried to convince the guys to wait their turn, and go in order as planned. "No, no… I want to say this." Matt said, and he continued to go on about how the woman, during the night of the killing was lying in bed unable to sleep because it was so hot. "Now… she looks outside the window across the monorail-lines, and she sees the kid shoot his dad's Digimon at 12:10."

"Across the monorail-tracks, through the windows of a passing monorail…" Davis pointed out.

Matt pointed with his finger. "Yeah… but this monorail had no passengers on it. It was just being moved downtown and the lights were out… and in court it was proven that at night when the lights are out, you can look through the windows of the monorail and see what's happening on the other side. Now what have you got to say about that?"

Davis looked Matt in the eyes, "Here's what I have to say…" he said. "You don't believe the boy's story… then why do you believe the woman's? She's one of THEM too isn't she?"

Matt's features changed, and his lips curled into a sneer. "Touché…!" he sneered. "Wise-guy…"

Matt took his seat, and then it was Kari's turn to say her piece about the case. Only, Kari really didn't want to say anything bad or things like that. "Well… can I pass?" she asked.

"Well… if you want to…" Izzy said. "Uh… you might as well go ahead, Sora."

Sora wasn't sure almost. "Oh. Uh… well I don't really know too much more about this." she said. "It's just that I was starting to be convinced earlier in the case. I was just trying to look for a motive, because without one the case doesn't really make sense now, does it? Well, the way I see it… the testimony presented by all those witness in the apartments from the kid's place, they all heard the argument around 8 pm and all that other stuff as well."

Davis nodded his head, "Right and they also heard the father hit his son twice, and they didn't know what the argument was about. They did know that they saw the kid run angry out of the house. What does that prove to you?"

Sora shrugged her shoulders, "It doesn't prove anything. It's all just part of what went on."

Davis was still not convinced. He couldn't see any motive there, even the attorneys said the same thing during the trial and it too wasn't a strong enough motive. "Don't you see… that kid's been beat up so many times in his life, that violence is pretty much all he knows. I mean....I don't get how two slaps in the face could provoke him to commit murder."

"Well it may have been two too many." said Joe. "Everyone has a breaking point, and their liable to snap. That's a psychological fact of how the human mind works."

Davis was silent, for he realized that Joe was right about that. Even he himself had breaking points that would make him want to do crazy things.

Sora finished her turn and it moved onward to Tai. He thought it over for a moment, "I don't know… everything's already been said." he explained as he wiped his sweating brow and opened his suit. "I mean we could talk here forever, and it wouldn't change a thing."

"Look at this kid… this isn't even his first offence, he's a got a record. He was in children's court when he was ten for throwing a rock at the teacher. He went to reforming school when he was fifteen because he stole a car. He got arrested for mugging, and twice for knife-fighting. He even disturbed the peace, and shoplifted. Man, this is one fine boy."

"Well can you blame him…?" Davis asked. "Ever since he was little his own father beat up cruelly, he used his fists, and even had his Digimon attack the boy."

"Yeah…? Well so would I." replied Tai. "I mean a kid as evil as that…"

"It's these kids and the way they act now these days." TK said. He got up from his chair and paced round the room. "I remember when our parents were still together, Dad would tell Matt and me about the stories of him and our grandfather. He always said he used to call his father "Sir"

Davis thought that was really weird, having to call your father "Sir" "Maybe that would explain why your dad lost his temper so much." He said.

TK and Matt gave him a straight look. "No… that's not it." TK said. "Grandpa was really tough on our dad." He pulled an old family picture that was taken before his parents divorce, and his grandfather was in it too.

"When Dad was nine he ran away from a fight. Grandpa said when he saw it he was so embarrassed that he nearly made himself sick. He said, _"I'm going to make a man out of you if I have to beat you up trying."_ Well… he made a man out of him, and that's what lead to Dad losing his nerves and what made the divorce."

"Man… I hate evil!"

Everyone could understand how TK felt, but they didn't know why he was referring to his hatred of evil having anything to do with the divorce. "I think we're missing the point…" Joe said, breaking he silence. "We're here to decide if this boy is guilty or not. Not to go into the reasons why he grew up the way he did. We can't help that anymore than anyone else. He was born in a slum, and the way I see it slums are criminal breeding grounds. I believe, and so all of you, that all children from these types of background are potential menaces."

Matt blew his nose, and then said. "Right-on to that… The kids who crawl out of those dumps; nothing but waste… I don't want anything to do with them or those who get involved."

Kari cut in by saying. "Now hold on just a minute. Some of the kids I teach at school live in slum lives. They've played in backyards filled with garbage… and I still teach them, so maybe you think I'm no good either."

"Hey, hey… easy Kari." said Matt.

"He didn't mean anything personal…" added Izzy.

Kari was convinced that what Matt had said was personal. "When you insult the kids I teach, you insult me too, and I hate people who say things like that about other people!"

"Hey, take it easy, Kari." Yolei said. "They were trying to pick at you. You don't have to be so sensitive."

Izzy sighed and rubbed his sweaty face in frustration. "Look can we quit the arguing now?" he asked irritably. "Okay… Davis it's your turn. What have you got to say?"

"Me…?" Davis asked. "Well I wasn't really expecting a turn. I thought you guys were trying to convince me."

"Well what difference does it make…?" protested Matt. "You're the one keeping us here. You should start talking."

Once again, Izzy tried to convince Matt to stick to the plan and go in order. "Oh, stop being a kid will you?"

Izzy felt insulted. "What do you me "a kid"?"

"What do think I mean? K-I-D, kid…"

Izzy stood up from his seat with his hands by his hips. "Hey! I'm just trying to keep things organized here. What? You got something wrong with that?" he asked deeply. "Here, why don't you take over? See what you think of it."

"Awe, come on… don't get all worked up over this, will you?" replied Matt.

"No, no… don't tell me what to do. Here, you want my seat, take it."

Yolei got up and tried to calm Izzy down. "Here, come on now, take it easy. We're only wasting time."

"Wasting time?" Izzy said to here. "Oh, well then maybe you' like to take the role. Come one sit down."

"No, no… you're doing okay Izzy. We don't need a change." replied Yolei. Izzy finally calmed down and took his seat.

Davis decided to take the turn given to him in hopes that it would break up the arguing. "Well… I only know as much as you guys do, and you all seem to think the boy is guilty, and maybe he is."

"Well I listened to all the evidence built up, for the six days we sat in court. Everyone seemed to feel positive about what was presented there, but I began to realize that maybe the defense-council wasn't looking at all the facts and evidence properly enough. I mean there could've been loads of thing left out."

Matt chuckled at such a silly statement. "Did you ever stop to think that maybe they didn't ask all those things is because they already know the answer, and they don't even need to bother…?"

Davis nodded his head, "But did you ever stop to think that it's possible for some lawyers to be plain stupid?"

"He does have a point." Cody said. "If I want be an attorney I can't let the little details go by. Every little bit counts."

"That's right…" Davis replied. "Why if I were on trial for my life, I'd ask for a lawyer who would tear all the witnesses to shreds until every single detail, even the littlest things were exposed. Just look at the witnesses in the case. The old man, and the woman across the street, they could be wrong about what they witnessed during the killing."

"What do you mean, _"They could be wrong_"?" Yolei asked. "What's the point of having witnesses at all if they're wrong about what they claim to see? They stood there in court under oath."

"Could they be wrong…?" Davis asked again.

Yolei thought it over for a moment, "Well no I don't think so."

"No… you know so." replied Davis. "They're still only people, and people can make mistakes."

Yolei deiced to just go back to her seat. Davis was right… people were capable of making mistakes. Still… he wasn't up to changing his vote, neither was anybody else. Perhaps it was time to try looking at more of the evidence a little closer…!


	4. Gambling for support

**CHAPTER THREE**

TK had a suggestion to make to try and change Davis' mind. "Okay… why don't we change the subject?" he said. "What about the revolver that was used to kill his father's Digimon?"

"Uh, wait a minute…" Mimi pointed out. "Some of the others haven't talked yet. Shouldn't we let them go first?"

"They'll get chance. Just be quiet a minute!" TK said gruffly. Mimi felt livid that he snapped at her like that, but TK replied his statement, "What about the gun this fine upright boy admitted buying on the night of the killing. Why don't we talk about it?"

"All right… let's talk about it." Davis agreed. "Let's get it in here right now and look at it. Izzy… if you would…?" Izzy nodded and went over to knock at the door, and asked the bailiff to bring them the gun.

"We've already seen what it looks like, why should we see it again?" TK asked.

"TK, We all have rights to see exhibits and evidence." Joe told him. He then explained of how the gun, and the way it was bought were both very strong pieces of evidence. "Now let's take a moment to go over the facts one at a time."

"One… the admitted going out of the house at 8 pm on the night of the killing, after being slapped several times by his father--"

"Uh, no, no… he said "punched" Sora cut it. "There's a big difference between being slapped and punched."

Joe rephrased himself, "After being HIT several times by his father, and Digimon partner."

"Two… he went to neighborhood junk shop where bought a small revolver. Now this was no ordinary gun. It had a very unusual carved handle, and contained a set of rather odd looking bullets. The store-keeper who sold it to the boy said it was the only one of its kind he had ever had in stock."

"Three… he met some friends of his in front of a vacant-lot in his neighborhood at 8:45. They chatted for awhile and then he left them an hour later. During that time… they saw his gun."

"Four… his friends were called to the stand when questioned, and they identified the death weapon as that very same gun."

"Five… he arrived home at 10, and he claims that he went to a movie sometime near 11:30, and returned home at 3 in the morning to find his fathers Digimon vaporized, his father dead, and himself arrested."

"Now what happened to the gun? Well he claimed that it fell through a hole in his pocket between 11:30 and 3 am, while he was on his way to the movies, and he never saw it again. Well I don't believe a single word of it."

"I think it's clear that the boy never went to the movies that night. No one saw him leave the apartment. No one at the theater identified him. He couldn't even remember the names of the movies he saw."

The bailiff came back into the room and passed Izzy a very small revolver that was no bigger than the size of someone's hand, and a bag containing the type of bullets it used. Izzy pass the items to Joe who continued with his statement.

"What actually happened was this. The boy stayed home… had another fight with his father, and the Digimon partner. Shot the Digimon to death, which made his father die of a heart attack, and left the house at 12:10. He even remembered to wipe the gun clean of fingerprints, and disposed of all the bullets in attempt to cover up his tracks."

Joe held the gun, which was not loaded, in front of Davis. "Now are you trying to say that this gun really fell through a hole in the boy's pocket, someone picked it up off the street, went to his home and killed his father's Digimon just to test it out?"

Davis shook his head, "No, I'm trying to say that it's possible that the kid lost his gun and that somebody else killed the Digimon with a similar gun."

Joe slammed the gun and the bullets down on the table. "Take a look at this gun. It sure is an odd looking tool. I never saw one like it before, and neither had the store-keeper who sold it to the boy. Aren't you asking us to accept a fairly large coincidence?"

"I'm just saying a coincidence is possible." replied Davis,

"And I say it's not possible." growled TK.

Davis stood up, reached into his suit-pocket and slammed on the table an identical match of the same gun. The others all went crazy with remarks on how the guns were exactly the same. "Where did you get that?" Joe asked.

"I went out walking last night…" Davis answered. "I walked through the boy's neighborhood and a bought this at a pawn-shop two blocks away from his house. It cost six-hundred yen."

Joe gave Davis a very strict look, "It's against the law to carry firearms without a permit, or a background record-check."

Davis nodded and admitted that he broke the law.

"Look you pulled a real hair brained scheme here, Davis." said TK. "What are trying prove? Maybe there are ten guns like that that one, so what? You found another one like it, and you expect us to be turned on by this discovery?"

Yolei eyed the two guns, "You mean you're asking us to believe that someone else shot the father's Digimon with the exact same kind of gun?"

"The odds are a-million to one." added Tai

"It's possible!" Davis practically wailed.

"But not very probable." said Joe.

Everyone took their seats once more. "You know… I think it's interesting how he found a gun just like the one that was bought by the boy." Mimi expressed.

"What's so interesting about it?" snapped TK. "The rest of us here still think he's guilty, Davis. You haven't convinced any of us anything."

"Right on brother…" Matt said. He coughed twice and then said. "If you want to be a stubborn guy and hang this jury go on ahead. The kid will be trial again and found guilty anyway."

Davis got up and walked over to the window with a queer look on his face. "Yeah… you're probably right." he said sounding low.

"So, what are you going to do about it?" Tai asked his brother-in-law. "IF you keep this up we could be here all night."

"Well only one night." Cody said. "A boy may die."

Tai began to joke around by saying things like. "Well then why don't we set up house? Order a few pizzas, have some drinks, and we'll sweat the whole thing out."

Mimi didn't think that was funny at all. "I don't think he should be joking like that." she said to Izzy, "Well what do you want me to do about it, I'm just the foremen."

"Oh, knock it off will you?" Matt grumbled. "All this stuff about the gun means nothing. Somebody saw the kid shoot his father's Digimon, what more do we need? I say we just forget about, get done, and get out of here."

Ken gazed at Matt. "The gun was important to the attorneys. They spent the whole day studying it."

Matt didn't care about that, "They're nothing but a bunch of low rate assistants. What the heck do they know about anything?"

"Hey come on, that's enough!" snarled Izzy. "All this yelling is giving me a headache and we're only slowing down by arguing."

There was a brief moment of silence. "You're still the only one, Davis." TK reminded everyone.

Davis couldn't keep this up much longer. He was starting to lose his courage, and the stress was beginning to eat at him. "Okay… I'll tell you guys what I've decided." he said. "I'm going call for another vote. I want you all to vote by secret written ballot, and I'll keep out."

Some of the others felt sorry for Davis having to do this, particularly Kari. "Davis!"

"If all eleven votes are still Guilty, I won't stand alone. I'll change my vote and we'll take a in a Guilty verdict to the judge right now… and sentence the boy to his death."

"But if someone votes Not Guilty, then we stay here and talk it out some more. Well that's all I got. If you want to try it, I'm ready."

Everyone began to agree, and Izzy passed out pencils and paper-cards. Everyone voted and then passed their votes down back to Izzy. "I hope you know what you're asking for Davis…" he said.

His Vote was still Guilty, which meant all the other ten votes had to be the same. One by one Izzy opened the slips. "Guilty… Guilty… Guilty… Guilty… Guilty… Guilty… Guilty… Guilty… Guilty…" but he stopped at the last one, and his eyes widened…

"Not Guilty."

Matt stood up angrily. "Boy, how about that…?"

"Oh, great… now someone else has gone off the deep end!" snarled Tai.

Matt stomped around the room growling like bear, "All right, who was it? Come on now, I want to know."

Ken stood up, "Uh, Matt, remember this was a secret-ballot. We agreed to that. Maybe we ought to keep it secret?"

"Secret…?" snapped TK. "There aren't any secrets in a jury room Ken. Besides I already know who it was." And his eyes fixed on Kari. "Kari…you really are something. You vote guilty like the rest of us and then suddenly you rush over to help your sweet fiancée because he woos you with tale about an underprivileged kid couldn't help becoming and evil creep, and a murderer."

"WHY DON'T YOU DROP A QUARTER IN HIS COLLECTION BOX?"

Kari's jaw dropped and her eyes narrowed. "Hey! Wait a minute!" she snarled. "TK, you can't talk to me like that. Who the hell do you think you are?"

Joe tried to calm Kari down, "Easy Kari, calm down. TK's just very excitable."

"EXCITABLE? YOU BET I'M EXCITIBLE!" shouted TK. "WE'RE TRYING TO PUT A GUILTY EVIL CREEP IN THE NEEDLE CHAIR WHERE HE BELONGS! SOMEONE STATRS TELLING US STORIES AND WE'RE LISTENING!"

A lot of the other shad their ears plugged because his shouting. "TK…!" he said deeply. "Don't you go shouting at my fiancée like that…"

TK grunted, "Fine, I won't shout. Just tell me, Kari… why did you change your vote?"

Before Kari could respond, Cody cut in by saying, "Kari didn't change her vote TK. I did."

The others all turned to face him with surprised looks on their faces. Of all people Cody changed his vote? "I suppose you want me to tell you why?"

"No, I don't want you tell me why, and waste more time." snapped Tai.

Cody wanted to make it clear anyways, and he got support from others who were interested. Cody got up from his seat and explained he his grandfather once told him never to let a man down when he needs help the most…

"Davis has been standing alone against us. Now, he didn't say the boy is innocent, he's just not sure and he's not ready to decide. Well I learned that it's not easy to stand alone against the ridicule of others, so he gambled for support, and for once I gave it to him. Besides… while it may be true that the boy may be guilty, I want to hear more."

Tai couldn't stand up for anymore of this so he got up and headed for the men's room. "Tai, I'm still talking here!" Cody shouted. "You can't just walk out…!"

Davis hushed him, "Never mind Cody. He can't hear you, and even if he could he probably won't listen."

The vote was now ten to two in favor of Guilty, which meant it was still not unanimous, but at least Dais got the support he asked for. Now they could really get down to some business.


	5. Craving attention

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"Shall we continue…?" Joe asked.

Izzy stretched back in his seat, "No… I think we ought to take a break. Tai's in the bathroom, we ought to wait until he's out."

The others all agreed, and did they ever need this break. Some went to he water-cooler for a quick drink to cool off. The air-conditioning still hadn't kicked in yet, and a lot of the guys began to take off their jackets, and loosen their ties. He ladies on the other hand just fanned themselves and rolled up their sleeves.

Izzy gave the exhibit gun, and the bullets back to the Bailiff as they were all through looking at it, and TK tried to apologize to Kari for yelling at her. "I didn't mean to get nasty, I'm just glad you're not turning crazy like the others." All the wrong things to say, Kari didn't say a word.

Davis decided to head to the bathroom himself where he found Tai was combing his hair. "Boy, I never knew having short hair would be great to have." he said.

His brother-in-law chuckled slightly before washing his hands and face. As he did, Tai couldn't help but question him again as to his voting. "What are you trying to get out of this anyways?"

"Nothing… maybe nothing, really..." Davis answered as he dried his face.

Tai rolled his eyes. "Look I don't see why the rest of us have to waste out time like this." he said. "Look what if you just change your vote, and then you donate some money to the cause and you'll feel better. This kid is guilty, Davis… as plain as the nose on your face. If we don't wrap this up soon we're all going to get sore throats."

"Maybe…" replied Davis. "But what difference does it make if you get it here or at the soccer game?"

Tai shrugged his shoulders. "Meh… I guess no difference." and he went back outside.

Davis stood where he was in deep thought.

…

While in the ladies-room, Sora and Kari were prettying up their faces. "Boy TK's really getting hot-headed." Sora said.

"Oh, you know how he is when it comes to evil." said Kari. "Still doesn't give him any right to yell at everyone like that."

Sora had to agree, she didn't like loud people either, but still… "We should've been done by now. Then I can get back to making your wedding gown."

Kari smiled slightly, and blushed, "Sora… I'm just not sure if I can marry Davis knowing we're going to sentence a boy to his death. Even if he is guilty, I still don't think much of it."

Sora tried to comfort Kari saying that it was their job, not to kill people, but protect the world from people who killed. "Think about it. Suppose Davis and Cody convince us all, and it turns out the kid did shot his dad's Digimon?"

She left the bathroom, but now Kari was standing there deep in thought.

Soon afterwards, everyone was back in jury room ready to resume. "Okay, let's get down to business." Izzy said. "Who wants to star us off…?"

TK volunteered. "Okay, Davis… now listen to this." he said calmly. "The old-man who lived next-door in the opposite apartment said her heard the boy yell out _"I'm going to kill you."_ A second later he heard a gunshot. Then he got up and ran to the door, and saw the kid running down the hall. Now, what do you make of that?"

"Well I was wondering how clearly the old-man could've heard the boy's voice through the walls." said Davis.

TK shook his head, "He didn't hear it through the walls, the window was open and so was the one next-door. It was a hot night."

Davis wasn't convinced, for he assumed that it wasn't easy to identify someone's voice particularly a shouting voice.

"I don't think so." Izzy said. "Remember they identified the voice in court."

"That's right…" added Yolei, "And don't forget the lady across the way, she looked right through the window, and shoot his father's Digimon. Are you satisfied?"

"No, I'm not." snapped Davis.

Tai couldn't believe how stubborn Davis was acting, "This is like talking into a dead phone."

Davis suddenly remembered something left out, and that was the six-car monorail. The lady across the way stated that she saw the killing happen between the last two cars of the train. That brought a question to Davis' mind, "Does anybody here have any idea how long--" he stopped when he noticed that Izzy, Mimi, TK and, Yolei were completely ignoring him and playing games with their paper and pencils.

Davis stomped over and wretched the papers away and the pencils "Hey!"

"What the--"

The others watched as he angrily crumpled the papers, and snapped the pencils. "Smarten up…!" he sneered. TK thought Davis had some nerve for doing that. "Who do you think you are…?" he growled, but Davis continued with what he was saying…

"Does anybody here have an idea how long it takes a monorail train going at medium-speed to pass a given point?"

Mimi had an answered, "I'd say roughly about ten to twelve seconds."

"Right…" replied Davis. "Now let's suppose that it does take ten seconds to pass a given point, preferable the open windows where the killing took place. Those tracks are so close to the window you can almost touch them if you reach out far enough. Now, has anybody any idea how noisy it can be when a train goes by?"

Sora raised her hand, "Well my fashion studio where I work is pretty close to the monorail line. I mean it's not that close but it passes by close enough that the noise can be unbearable."

Some of the others began to get Davis' point. If the monorail going by at that distance was noisy, a monorail traveling so close by an open window had to be even worse. "You'd hardly be able to hear yourself think with all that noise." Davis said.

"Yeah, yeah, you can't hear yourself think. So what…?" TK said.

Davis decided to try and put two pieces of the testimony together to see if they fit together. "First, the old-man is home next-door. He said he hear the boy yell _"I'm going to kill you," _then a second later he heard a gunshot."

"Now… according to the woman's testimony, she swore that she looked out of her bedroom window and saw the killing through the last two cars of the monorail. Now… since we agreed that it takes about ten seconds for a monorail to pass a given point, and the woman stated that she saw the killing through the last two cars… we can only assume that the gun was shot just as the train went by."

"Which means that it must have been running by the old-man's a full ten seconds before the gun was shot… which means that according to the old man's testimony, hearing the kid yell, and the gun going off… he would had to have heard all these under all that noise. It's not possible he could've heard it clearly."

TK didn't believe a word of it, that ridiculous of course he could've heard it. He heard the kid yell at the top of his lungs."

"Even if he had, he couldn't have identified the voice with all that noise." protested Davis.

TK shot up from his seat shouting, "You're talking about a matter of seconds! No one can be that accurate."

"Well I don't think so…" Davis said. "I think that testimony that could put a boy to death should be made clear and as accurate as can be."

Kari and Sora began to exchange words, "Gee, I don't think he could've heard it." Kari said.

"Yeah… I don't think even I could hear it through all that noise..." added Sora.

TK couldn't believe everyone. "Oh, will you guys knock it off?" he groaned. "Even if the old-man lied why would he have lied, what could he hope gain from it…?"

Cody had an idea, "Perhaps… attention?"

TK clenched his fists, "Oh, that's real fine. You have more bright things to say, why don't save them for the evening news? They pay just as well!"

Sora was outraged by what her brother-in-law had just said. "What the heck are you talking to him like that for?" she snapped as she got up. "A guy who treats his friends like that really ought to be smacked in the face. You ought to show more respect."

"If you mouth off like that once more… you're going to be eating those words."

TK stared angrily at his sister-in-law, and sat back down. "Now Cody… you were saying something about the old-man seeking attention?" replied Sora. "Why would you think he'd do a thing like that?"

Cody explained how he used his grandfather's lessons of observation. Studying the human actions and appearance to determine what their true intentions may be. "I got a good look at him for a long time. I could even see a huge split under the shoulder of his jacket. Now that's a real fine way to attend court poorly dressed."

"The way I see it… he was a very old-man, wearing a torn jacket. When he was called to the stand he walked very slowly, dragging his left leg, and using a cane. He was also trying to hide it because he was shamed. I think I know him better than anyone else here… he's a quiet, frightened old-man, who's never had a major accomplishment in his life. He's never had any recognition, or even his name mentioned in the news. No one knows him, and no one quotes him or seeks his advice after 75 years... Now that is pretty sad."

"Wait a minute what are you talking about?" Tai asked. "You mean he'd lie like that just so people would give him some attention and make himself look important?"

"No…" replied Cody. "He wouldn't purposely lie, but maybe he thought he heard the words and compared the boy's face."

Matt sniffed rudely. "That's most idiotic thing I've ever heard." he grumbled as he rubbed his nose with his tissues. "How can you go on and make up a thing like that about some old-guy you don't even know yourself?"

A long moment of silence occurred, and Cody didn't know whether or not to feel great about what he said or embarrassed, but some of the others actually seemed to be convinced by what he said, but now they weren't sure how to vote…


	6. Room for doubt

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Mimi got up from her seat and wandered over the closet to get her purse. "Say… does anyone else want a breath-mint?" she asked.

Davis and Yolei raised their hands. "Davis… I still don't see how anyone can think the boy isn't guilty." Yolei said. "He still did say _"I'm going to kill you"_ didn't he?"

"Well I think we already proved that old-man didn't hear the phrase properly." Davis said as he chewed on the breath-mint. "But… even if he had… it's a simple phrase, and people have used it thousands of times. Heck I used to say that Jun a lot of times when we were young and arguing and she said she'd kill me. Now, does that really mean we're really going to kill someone?"

"Oh, what are you getting at…?" TK asked. "The kid yelled at the top of his lungs. Anyone who says it the way he said it, they have to mean it!"

"Well I don't know about that…" Mimi cut in. "I remember some of the other stage-hands who work on my cooking-show, they're jealous of my success and they don't like me. They kept insulting and calling me a bimbo, so I yelled at them."

TK was still just a stubborn as ever, and refused to believe it. "The boy yelled out, "I'm going to kill you" and he did kill his father's Digimon, and hear you are talking about things that aren't so!"

Davis wasn't convinced. "The kid was smart enough to know better than to shout out a thing like that so the whole neighborhood would hear him."

"Smart…?" Matt asked, "He's a no-good rude malefactor. He even speaks a with a New-York accent."

"Well what difference does that make if he speaks like that…?" Ken asked.

Kari had been thinking about everything that was said so far, and now she decided, "Izzy, I've decided to change my vote to Not Guilty."

TK looked at her in shock, "What…?"

"You heard me." replied Kari. "I'm changing my vote and that's that."

Izzy asked Kari if she was sure, and she was as sure as anyone could be. "The vote is now nine to three in favor of Guilty."

"Golly, my own sister…!" Tai said softly. "Where do you guys get all these stories from anyways? I'm telling you, you guys are really something. I mean... even the kid's own lawyer didn't believe any of it, he knew it was a loss right from the start."

He looked at his watch, "Oh, fro crying out loud, will you look at the time."

So far they had all been chatting for an hour and half, but he seemed to be the only one who cared so much… _most likely as he just couldn't wait to get out of there and go the soccer-game._

Yolei then noticed that Ken was writing his police-notebook he carried everywhere. "What'cha got there…?" she asked.

Her husband stood up so he could get everyone's attention, "Well I've making some notes, and I'd like to point out some things… you know it helps me work as a detective."

Izzy nodded and allowed Ken to have his chance. "What have you got for us…?"

Ken reviewed his notes, "Well Davis has made a lot of good points, and from what was presented in court, the boy does look guilty on the outside… but I wanted to conduct a more thorough search, and I realized something."

"Now… let's assume that the boy did kill his father's Digimon, this happened at 12:10. Now, how was he caught by the police? Well this happened when he returned home at 3 am where two other detectives captured him in the hallway of the building where he lived."

"Well… what I'm wondering is… if he really did commit the murder then why would go back home knowing fully well he could've been caught by the police?"

"He obviously must have went back to get his gun." stated Joe, "He may have dropped it as he ran out of the house, and he knew that it would identified as the won he bought."

Ken raised his hand again, "Yes, but if he knew the gun could identified, why did he leave it there in the first place. I mean, why would he have dropped it and not take with him?"

Joe thought on it, and stated, "Perhaps he dropped his gun in a state of panic after realizing what he just did. Then he calmed down three hours later, and realized that he left the gun at home."

TK rubbed his hand across his forehead in a state of boredom. "Look… first of all, the fact was he left the gun there… and second, why do keep going off like this Ken? You voted guilty already."

Ken gave TK a straight look, "I'm just asking questions…" he said. "I want to be a detective one day. You got a problem with that?"

TK shrugged.

Yolei tipped her glasses. "Well, if I were the boy, I'd take a chance and get the gun. Maybe I wouldn't even be stupid enough to leave it there. In fact… maybe he would've thought that his Dad's Digimon would've vanished by then after being shot, and he could miles away before the Digimon was reconfigured and would be able to tell anyone what happened, that is if his memory hadn't been erased."

Ken tried to explain that that was his whole point. "You see… the woman across the way, she said that after she saw the murder committed, after the monorail went by, she screamed and then went to call the police. Don't you think the boy would've heard the scream, and know that somebody could see it happening?"

"I really just don't think he would've gone back. It just doesn't add up."

"Two things…" said Joe. "One… in his state of panic he might not have heard the scream, and not to mention the train had gone by which could have drowned out the sound. Two… even if he had heard the maybe he didn't connect it to his actions. There's your answer."

Davis however wasn't convinced by any of that, "You may be right about all that, but maybe you're not." he pointed out. "Remember… we're also trying to figure if he was there at all when the murder was committed."

Matt stood up from his seat with a look of sheer confusion on his face, "What are you talking about? The old-man said he saw the guy running out; you're twisting the facts." he then turned to face Ken. "Did or didn't the old-man see the boy running down the hall at 12:10. Well did, or didn't he?"

Ken thought it over, "Well, he said he did…"

"Said he did? Well, how about that?" Matt snarled.

"Now look, Matt. Witnesses can make mistakes." Kari barked at him.

"Sure… when you say they do, but that doesn't make it anymore real! You guys are all going nuts!"

Izzy stood up, "Will you please keep it down with the yelling?" he growled.

"Oh, you keep saying that. Maybe what need is a little yelling, these guys just aren't listening anymore, and they're twisting the facts…"

Davis stood up and declared, "I want another vote."

"I'm talking here…!"

"There was another vote called for…" Izzy snapped. "Now let's take our seats, and keep quiet!"

Matt snuffed angrily and went back to take his seat. "Boy, I never thought I'd ever see so much time spent on nothing." TK said. "It's not really nothing if you look at it…" Mimi said as she sat down beside him.

TK just gave her a look.

Izzy got everyone's attention ready for the vote. "I guess the best way is find out who's voting Not Guilty. Now all those voting Not Guilty raise your hands…"

Davis, Kari, and Cody all raised their hands, but no one else did. "Nope, it's still the same. Three, Not-Guilty… Nine Guilty…"

A lot of the others were really getting annoyed by all this. To them it was like talking over an incident that didn't mean anything much… but just then, Ken raised his hand. "Uh, pardon me…" he said. "I vote Not-Guilty."

"Oh, Ken…!" Yolei exclaimed, and all the others voting guilty exclaimed in annoyance, but Davis and he exchange soft smiles for doing what they thought was right.

TK stood up and grumbled, "Will you get a grip already? The kid is guilty. Why don't you listen to the facts? Man, this is annoying!"

"The vote is eight to four, in favor of Guilty." Izzy stated.

TK marched right over to Ken, "All right… that does it! You get up right and tell me why you changed vote! Come one, I want to know."

Ken stood up and looked dead in TK's eyes. "First of all, don't shout at me!" he said deeply. "And why should I have to defend my decision to you? I have a reasonable doubt now so I changed my vote."

TK just picked up the gun on the table and held it out to Ken. "Yeah, well get this straight. The kid was actually seen using this to shoot his father's Digimon. Now do you still think he's innocent or what?"

Cody noticed, "Uh, TK… that's not the gun. Don't you remember? That's the gun Davis brought in."

TK looked at the gun and realized, "Oh… isn't that smart." and he threw it back on the table, and walked back to his seat. The vote was still not unanimous, but who knew… maybe it would become unanimous… hopefully soon.


	7. Listening to reason

**CHAPTER SIX**

Tai just couldn't believe what was going on anymore. He felt like everyone was going crazy except him. "Okay look… now what about the old-man?" he asked. "Are we supposed to believe that he didn't get up and run to his front-door and see the kid tearing down the hall fifteen seconds after the killing?"

Kari suddenly stopped her brother. "Wait, wait a minute Tai…! Are you sure he said he _ran_ to the door?"

"What's the difference?" replied Tai. "He said he got there."

Kari wasn't convinced, and nether was Sora. "He said he ran… I think he did." Sora said.

Joe stood up trying to break it up, "He said he _went _from his bedroom to the door."

"Yeah I know that…" Kari said. "But I don't see how he could possibly have run to the door with that leg condition he had."

Davis began to realize that was another important detail, and asked Izzy for a diagram of the old-man's apartment. "Look shouldn't we just have them runt he trial over again?" Tai suggested, but he was completely ignored when Matt butted in ranting, "Davis, why are you the only one who wants to see exhibits all the time?"

"I don't care about that…" Kari said. "I want see this too."

"Yeah…? Well I'd like stop wasting time all together." TK said.

Joe confronted Davis saying, "Are you going to drag us through all that nonsense about where the thought he was, or what he heard?"

"No…" Davis snapped. "It's just that I'd like to find out if it's possible for an old-man who drags one foot when he walks and uses a cane because he stroke last year can get to his apartment door in fifteen seconds."

"He said twenty seconds." protested TK.

"No he said fifteen." replied Davis.

"He said twenty! What, are you trying to get at? Do you know how long fifteen seconds are? You can't judge a thing like that."

"No, TK…" Cody spat at him, "I remember he said fifteen seconds, and he was very positive there."

"He was an old-man… he was confused! How can he be positive about anything at all?" TK snarled but he decided to stop when he realized that he was insulting an old-man and everyone was giving him a look telling him not to insult people like that.

Still, the problem was not resolved. "Whatever it is you're trying to prove, I see nothing of what you see." Joe stated, "The man clearly said that he saw the boy running through the hall."

Davis wasn't so convinced, especially seeing as how he wondered, "If he heard the gunshot, and then heard footsteps racing across the floor. Now the old-man was certain that he couldn't have taken more than fifteen seconds to get form his bed to the front-door and see the killer running through the hall."

"Yeah right…" Tai joked, "If the killer was running he must've made it half a town away by then."

Some of the others chuckled slightly, "Say, Tai… why don't you quit making smart remarks so much?" Sora said to him.

"Awe, Come on Sora… lighten up a bit."

Izzy got the diagram for Davis, and everyone huddled around to look at it closely. According to the measurements the old-man's bed was twelve feet away from the bedroom door, then it was another thirty feet to the front door. The outside hall way had to be at least forty feet long, with the boy's apartment right beside the old-mans.

"Now then…" Davis finally said. "If the old man was lying in his bed when he heard the gunshot, he would've had to climb out of bed, and grab his cane. Then he's have to walk twelve feet from the bed to the door, walk another twenty feet to the front-door, open it and see outside all in fifteen seconds. Do you really think he could've done it…?"

"Sure he could've done it, he said he did." Matt stated, but Ken pointed out that the man could only move very slowly, "In fact they had to help him into the witness chair and down again. He could barely even get up on his own."

"You're making it sound like a long walk and a struggle." said TK.

"Well for an old-man who had a stroke it would be a long walk and a struggle." protested Cody.

Davis decided that the only way to know for sure was to try it out himself; walk around the room like the old-man did and see how long it would supposedly take, as he calculated how long the room was and how much he'd have to walk, the others began to wonder why the lawyer didn't bring put the subject of the walk if it was so important?

"Maybe he didn't bring it up, or he thought he'd lose the case." Matt suggested.

"Or maybe… it would've meant bullying and badgering to a helpless old man." Davis said. "You know that won't work out well, so most lawyers prefer to skip it."

He then continued to measure out the distances; He used two chairs between the entrances to the men's and ladies rooms to serve as the twelve feet from the bed to the door, and then he needed to calculate another forty feet going around the table and then back. So he decided to walk around the room and measure by the steps he took.

"Awe, come on… will you?" Matt said. "You're wasting our time here."

Kari pointed her finger angrily at Matt, "If I remember correctly, you said it would only take fifteen seconds. Now we can spare that!"

As Davis continued to calculate his steps, Tai began to whistle casually, he stopped however when Mimi gave him a straight look and spat, "Come on, grow up will you?"

Tai whistled awkwardly, "Whew… testy, testy, much!"

Davis finally measured how far he had to walk, and he even decided to use the broom in the closet to serve as a cane. "All right… Joe… you stand here and mark the front door."

Joe did as he was instructed. "It was chained-locked and knob-locked." He pointed.

"Right it was…" added Davis. "Does anyone have their Digivice with them?"

"I have…" Mimi said as she quickly pulled it out from her skirt pocket.

Davis wanted her use her Digivice's clock to time him with the second-counter. "If you want, you can stamp your foot to start me. We can pretend that's the gunshot." Then he got himself onto the first chair, but Mimi just stood where she was gazing at her Digivice clock. "Well… I'm ready…" Davis said.

The others began to complain about what was taking her so long. "Well, I want to wait until the seconds get to zero. It'll be easier to time."

Finally, she stamped her foot…

Davis, pretending he was old and tired, slowly got up and off the chair and reached for the broom. Then he slowly began to walk across the room using his cane while dragging his left foot across the floor. While some of the others found this fascinating, some were still annoyed, particularly Matt. "Come on, move it! He can go faster than that."

Davis agreed and put a little more speed into his steps, and told Mimi to shave off five seconds. Davis walked all the way around the table and up to Joe where he pretended to open the locks, and open the door to look outside. "Stop…!" he told Mimi. "How long did I take?"

Mimi compared the time, and even with the five seconds shaved off it amounted to, "Exactly, _One minute, and two seconds."_

The others all gasped and exclaimed as they huddled around Davis. "Here's what I think must've happened..." he said. "Now the old-man heard the fight between the boy and his father, and his father's Digimon. Then when he's lying in bed, he heard the gunshot and then someone racing down the hall. He got up, and rushed to the door as fast as he could, and only _heard _someone racing away and _assumed_ it was the boy!"

"I think that's possible…" cried Sora, and there was a slight exchange of comments between everyone else, until TK was standing by himself blurted out, "Assumed…?" everyone turned to face him, he was chuckling rudely at everyone.

"That has got to be the dumbest excuse I've ever heard. I mean look at you all! Here you guys are trying to show compassion for a guy who doesn't deserve it, what because he's a slum kid, and you're crying about injustice. Well if you guys think you're getting through to me, think again!"

He shot everyone a queer look, "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH YOU GUYS?" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "YOU ALL KNOW HE'S GUILTY. HE'S GOT TO DIE! YOU'RE LETTING HIM ESCAPE OUR GRASP."

The others shot TK the deepest looks of shock ever. "Escape our grasp?" Davis sneered at him, "Do you realize what you're saying TK? What are you, his executioner?"

"I'm only one of them!" TK snarled.

Everyone's features hardened all the more. "Perhaps you'd like to be the one to pull the switch, and kill the boy?"

TK socked his hand with his fists, "Ooh… you bet I would… Especially for this evil punk…" He grinned very angrily, and his eye twitched.

Davis could finally tell where this was coming from. TK was letting his anger and hatred towards evil get the better of him and cloud his judgment. "Man, I feel sorry for you, TK. I mean what it must feel like to want to pull the switch."

TK glared at Davis dead in the eyes, and could feel his anger boiling up inside as Davis continued to badger him.

"The real TK we know would never act this cruel!" Davis said. "Ever since you walked into this room you've been yelling in our faces, and scoffing at those of who changed their votes like your some sort o self-appointed public-avenger!"

"You say this boy is evil, because that's all you see in him. You want to see him die just for that; because you personally want it, and you don't care as much if your making a mistake or not."

TK was breathing furiously now with his teeth grinding, and his fist clenched. Finally, when Davis spat put, "You're a _SADIST!"_ TK snapped! "GRR…!" and began to charge towards Davis ready to murder him.

Kari, Sora, and Tai grabbed hold of TK holding him back, "Let me go! I'll kill Him… I'LL KILL HIM! I'LL--" he stopped when he realized what he just said.

"Exactly…" Davis said to him. "You said it… but you don't mean you'll kill me, do you?"

TK realized he was right, and the others let go of him.

At that moment, the bailiff opened the door and peeked inside. "Is there anything wrong folks? I heard some noise."

Izzy cleared everything up that it was nothing but just an argument. He also took the chance to take back the diagram.

After the bailiff had relocked the door, TK noticed that all the others were gawking at him. "What are you looking at?" he asked as he went to get a drink from the water cooler.

The room began to grow darker as the evening began to come through, and the sun was blocked out by thick clouds.

As everyone took their seats, "Uh… excuse me…" Ken said as he stood at the end of the table where Tai would sit.

"Excuse you…?" Matt grunted, "What are you being so polite about?"

"Matt…!" Sora snapped at her husband.

"I could ask you why you're not." replied Ken. "It's the way I chose to live."

"Now… look at us, we're fighting way too much. We didn't come here to fight, or to be mad at each other. We're here to decide the fate of a person we never met before, or we have no connection too, that's how democracy works."

"We don't really have anything to gain or lose by all of this, except for maybe one thing… and that thing is _knowledge._ We should learn as much as we can from all these details and testimonies as we can for it could help us through life. It can help me become a detective, and Cody and attorney… and maybe the rest of us can learn to be more observant."

"But… whatever happens… we don't have to make this a personal thing." Then he went back to his seat. "Hey, Ken…" Yolei said. "That was really cool…"

Her husband smiled. "My brother Sam used to do that all the time when mom and dad had a fight."

Tai walked over to the windows. "Boy, look how dark it is?" he said. "Looks like a storm's coming." Then he went back to take his seat.

Sora had been thinking about it for a little, "Listen…" she said. "I was thinking that maybe… we should take another vote."

Tai laughed slightly, "Oh there's a good idea. While we're at it, let's pass a few refreshments around."

Sora smirked at him, and then asked "Izzy… what do you think?"

Izzy scratched himself a little, "Well I guess that's a good idea. Anyone doesn't want to vote…?" Nobody had any objections, but Matt however had another idea. "I think we ought to make this an open ballot; call out our votes. This way we can see who stands where and narrow it down who to convince."

Izzy approved of that too. "Okay now… one by one, I'll call out your name, and you give me your vote." He instructed everyone. "Now… I'm first… and I vote Guilty. Mimi, how do you vote…?"

Mimi's lips twisted, and then she decided, "Not Guilty."

"TK…?"

"Guilty!" he said gruffly.

"Joe…?"

Joe took a puff from his cigarette, and spoke softly. "Guilty."

"Kari…?"

"Not Guilty."

"Sora…?"

"Not Guilty."

"Tai…?"

"Guilty."

"Davis…?"

"Not Guilty."

"Cody…?"

"Not Guilty."

"Matt…?"

He coughed twice and then grunted deeply, "Guilty!"

"Ken…?"

"Not Guilty."

"Yolei…?"

No response.

"Yolei…!"

Yolei's poor lack of better judgment was sending her in waves of confusion. She didn't know rightly which way to turn, so she just blurted out the first word in her head. "Guilty."

Izzy added up all the votes, and shook his head in dismay. "The vote is now _six to six._ In favor a definite hung-jury."

"Oh brother…!" Tai groaned. "It's like going through three tests and a midterm all at once."

Matt threw his used-tissue on the table. "Six to six…! I'm telling you, you guys are really starting to drive me nuts. I mean a guy like that kid…?"

Cody tried to convince Matt, "I don't think what kind of person he is matters at all. Remember, the facts are supposed to determine the case."

"Don't give me that! I'm sick of all these facts, and the way you keep twisting them." He coughed and wheezed as he got up to get a drink of water.

Cody sat back down trying to bottle his anger up. "I'm going to pretend it's his cold and the heat making him shout like that. He's beginning to get on my nerves."

With the vote now tied both ways, who knew where things were going to lead now as the rest of the guilty voters seemed convinced not to change their votes.


	8. How to use a gun?

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

A small crash of thunder was heard from outside. Mimi joined Tai by the window to cool off, "It's going to rain…"

"No, you think…?" Tai said jokingly. "Say… how come you changed your vote?"

Mimi admitted that all through the debate she went along with the others, until now when she decided to think for herself. "It seemed that there was room for doubt. Besides… there were a lot of details that were never gone over."

"Oh, what are you saying…?" Matt grumbled as he crumpled his water-cup in his hand. "You're just getting mixed. Like the rest of them" then he headed for the men's room.

"Loudmouth…" Mimi muttered under her breath.

"Wow, is it ever hot." Kari said softly as she fanned herself with her notepad. Then she noticed, "What's the matter Joe… don't you sweat anymore?"

Joe smiled softly, "No… not like that anymore. That Joe Idha's long gone."

Another crash of thunder rumbled, and it began to pour so hard that Tai nearly got his suit wet. Izzy turned on the lights in the room, and then went over to help Tai and Davis close the windows. "Wow, what a storm." Izzy said. "Reminds me of the time this thunderstorm caused a huge blackout, and my computer shutdown and I forgot to save my data."

"I hear you…" said Davis. "It happened to me with my video-games once. So I had the nerve to start practicing soccer in the rain so I could be a stronger player."

With the windows no shut, the room became even warmer. Everyone was sweating so much that you could start to see the wet marks on the suit, and their faced were all shinning under the lights. "Hey what is it with the air-conditioning?" Tai complained.

Then all of a sudden, it began to feel cooler in the room. The air-conditioning had finally kicked in "Hey, what do you know…" Sora said. "Guess we just had to ask it."

Everyone kicked back and let the cool air stir though the room. Joe even went to the water cooler for a drink. "Well how do you like it?" TK said to him. "Tied six to six, and no way around it?"

Joe nodded, "Well I suppose it is going to be tough."

TK then went on about how Davis was trying to bait him earlier, and insulting him. "Who does he think he is, calling me a public-avenger, a sadist? Anyone would've snapped like I did."

Joe threw away his cup, "Well… if you ask me… I think it served you right."

As everyone took their seats again, and Matt cam out form the washroom, "Right I've had enough of this nonsense." He said. "I suggest we wrap it up and declare ourselves a hung-jury."

"Yeah, I'm for that too…" Tai said. "Why not let twelve other people take this case. We're obviously not going anywhere; nobody's going to change their vote."

Many of the others weren't up for that idea. "Tai, you still don't think there's room for any doubt?" Kari asked. "No, I don't." her brother answered.

"Uh, Tai…?" Ken asked. "I don't think you understand the terms of why we're here."

"Hah!" Tai mocked, "Ken, if there's one thing I don't need it's you telling me what I should do or not."

"Okay, will you guys knock off with the arguing?" Izzy said irritably. "Now who's got something constructive to say?"

Davis stepped forward. "Now there was this deal about the boy being at the movies, and yet he wasn't able to remember what movies he saw or the stars that played in them."

Joe nodded in agreement. "That's right. It was the only alibi he had to offer, and he had no details to back it up with."

"Well, try and put yourself in the boy's place." Davis suggested, "Do you think you could really remember things like that after a very upsetting experience like being beat up by your father?"

Joe believed he would be able to, "Like I said before… the boy couldn't remember the movies he saw because he never went that night."

Davis pointed out that there was more to it than just being beat up. "The boy was question by the two detectives while his father's body was lying dead in the bedroom, and only a few shattered remains of his father' Digimon were scattered on the floor of the living room."

"You can't possibly expect us to believe that he could've remembered the movies he saw under emotional stress like that."

Joe still wasn't convinced, and even with all the experience he had dealt with patients who were under emotional stress whom he helped. Davis decided to ask, "When was the last time you went to the movies yourself?"

Joe thought it over, "Me…?" he asked. "It was… last Monday night. My wife and I went to the movies."

"And what did you see…?"

Joe hesitated for a moment or two, "I… I don't really remember." he said, "I don't remember any of it, or who stared in it either. I was busy for the next two days at the office, and helping my patients."

"But you weren't under emotional stress…?"

Joe sweated for the first time ever since he first sat down, "No… I guess I wasn't."

"Well, I think the point is made." Cody stated.

"No it isn't…" Matt said. He coughed once. "Joe's a busy guy, and he's got people to look after. This kid's nothing more than high-school drop-out he couldn't even get a job in a junkyard. He's got nothing to distract himself, understand?"

"Matt, stop it!" Sora said to her husband. "You'll make yourself sicker with all this ranting."

A small rumble of thunder boomed outside. "Boy, look at that rain…" Yolei said. "There's goes your soccer-game, Tai."

Tai shook his head, "It's only a shower. Besides… they got the roof-doors closed."

Mimi then asked if she could see the revolver for a moment. Davis got up and gave it to her kindly.

The vote was still tied six-six, and wasn't it ironic that it was 6 pm in the evening? Some of the others suggested they get some dinner, but others suggested they wait for another hour.

Mimi stood up, and decided to speak about something she had just come to realize. "I've been thinking about the gunshot, and how the Digimon was shot right in middle the chest… but I'm wondering something. The Digimon was only about two and a half feet tall, and the boy was at least five feet. Well I think it's a very awkward thing to shot someone in the chest who's less than half your height."

TK stood up and grabbed the gun from her hand. "Well why don't we test it out…?" he suggested. "I'll give you a demonstration, somebody get up…"

Only Davis was still standing, "Okay then… now I want to watch this carefully." TK said. "Davis, you crouch down…"

Davis got on his knees, and made himself look like he was half TK's height. "Okay… now if I were the boy, here's what I'd do." replied TK, and he cocked the gun, even though it wasn't even loaded, aimed carefully with the gun in both his hands, and pointed out. "See this is how I'd shoot someone shorter than me. Look at the angle, right in the middle of the chest."

"Now tell me I'm wrong…"

Yolei came over and tried it herself and she held the gun exactly like TK did with both hands. "Right in the middle… I guess he's right."

Just then Kari got up and walked over to Yolei and Davis saying, "Wait a minute…!" She took the gun from Yolei, and shivered slightly as she hated holding firearms. "I just thought of something…" she replied. "Davis and I went to the arcade a couple of times in high-school, and one of our favorite games was a shooting game where we'd have these fake guns and have to shoot cardboard cutouts…"

Davis smiled as he got up off the floor. "Those were great times." he smirked at his fiancée.

"Well how would you use a gun…?" Yolei asked.

Kari explained and demonstrated, "Well you'd never keep in your jacket-pocket, you'd lose too much time getting it out and taking proper aim with both hands. Now here's the right way to do it…" She gave the gun to Davis who demonstrated that he kept the gun in his pants-pocket, and grabbed it out with only one hand which allowed him to aim quicker. "Now I don't think the boy could've shot his father's Digimon any other way, but it was told that the killer was seen using both hands to hold the gun." he then said.

"How do you know that…?" TK asked. "You weren't in the room when the Digimon was killed, and neither was anyone else."

"What do you think Yolei…?" Davis asked.

Yolei still wasn't sure, "I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" TK grumbled.

"I just don't know." replied Yolei, "You know I've never been a person who can make quick judgments."

Davis walked Kari back to her seat, and then questioned Tai, who was sitting awkwardly as if he was bored out of his mind. "What do you think Tai…?"

His brother –in-law looked up, "I don't know about the rest of them, but I'm getting fed up with all this blabbering and yakking, we're not getting anywhere. Someone's got to break this up, so I guess I'll do just that. I'm changing my vote to Not Guilty."

"You what…?" TK asked.

Tai checked his watch for the umpteenth time, "You heard me. I'm finished. I've had it."

"What do you mean, you're finished?" That's no answer."

Tai sighed irritably, "Listen, you go about it your way, and let me go about it mine. You got that…?"

"Tai, TK's right…" Ken said with a strange look on his face. "That wasn't an answer. How can you act like this? You sat there, and you voted guilty quickly because you just want to leave here and go to the soccer-game, and suddenly you decide to change your vote because you say you've had enough of all this chatting?"

The two men got up, "Now listen Ken…!"

But Ken, with his anger starting to show, and his voice deeper, "Who tells you that you can play like this with somebody's life! Don't you care--"

"Hey, hold up!" Tai snapped. "You can't talk like that to me."

"Oh yes I can." protested Ken. "You're acting almost as worse as I did when I was evil, but at least I mended my ways and everything was made up for, but you…? If you want to vote Not Guilty with us, then you do it because you're convened that the boy is innocent, not because you've had enough… and if you think he's Guilty, then vote that way… but don't you have the nerve to do what you think is right for the boy and not for yourself?"

Tai was really getting irritable, but Ken wouldn't let him speak by cutting him out, "Guilty, or Not Guilty?"

"I told you…" Tai snapped. "I changed my vote. Not Guilty."

"Why…?"

"Hey! I don't have to--"

"Yes you do. You have to say it. Why…?"

Tai shrugged his shoulders, "I don't think he's guilty. You happy now…?"

Ken sighed softly and then went back to his seat. Then Davis stood up, "Since Tai's changed his vote, I think we should take another group-vote." he said to Izzy.

Izzy agreed, "I guess we'll do it by a show of hands." he suggested. "Now all those voting Not Guilty, raise your hands."

He counted the hands as they went up, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven." Yolei slowly, as she was hesitating, but then firmly raised her hand. "Eight…"

Izzy was nervously twiddling his fingers, and then raised his own hand. "Uh… Nine." He said shyly. "All those voting Guilty…?" TK, Joe, and Matt raised their hands. "One, two, and three..."

"Well, the vote's nine to three, in favor of acquittal."

The voting had now tipped in favor. But regardless of whether or not those voting Not-Guilty now had the upper hand, if the vote was still not unanimous, then it would all be for nothing.


	9. What the EYES can see

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

TK got up rubbing his hair in frustration. Joie shook his head in dismay, but Matt… he just bolted right up from his seat and let it out. "I don't understand you guys! I'm look at all this stupid points you make. They don't mean anything!

He continued to rant and rave about kids and how they were useless, and no good freaks, _despite that he was no perfect example himself when he was younger._ Even though the others knew it was only his cold and the heat making Matt angry, and he wasn't himself, one by one everyone just got up and moved away from the table. "Where are you going?"

"What's going on here? You're making a big mistake!"

Even Sora went away, and even TK, who voted Guilty with him, was fed up to the teeth with his brother's screaming. Matt suddenly began to feel isolated and embarrassed, and he quieted down a little. "Come one… look you guys… just listen. Listen!"

"We have…" Joe said deeply to him. "Now sit down and don't open your mouth again!"

Matt felt like he was a little kid who was just sent to his room. So instead of taking his seat again, he took his chair and moved closer to the water cooler away from the table which prompted everyone else to retake their seats.

The vote was still nine to three, and was amazing at how far they all had come, and Davis pointed out that sometimes, "Prejudice can always be there to obscure the truth."

He also pointed out that even though he and the eight others voting with him were convinced the boy was innocent, he also admitted they were probably wrong, but maybe they weren't. "But we do have reasonable doubt, and that's the most important detail we can have. We also can't understand why you three are still so sure. Maybe you could tell us?"

"Well I'll try." Joe said. "Now you did make some excellent points, and I am impressed, but I'm not convinced. I still believe the boy is guilty of murder, and for two reasons. One… the evidence given by the woman across the way who actually saw the murder committed."

TK nodded in agreement, "As far as I care… that's the most important testimony of them all." he said.

Joe nodded, "And two…" he replied. "The way that she described the gunshot… She swore positively that she saw that boy himself grab the gun with both hands from his jacket-pocket and shoot his father's Digimon directly in the chest."

"Now, this woman… she said she went to bed at 11 pm. Her bed was next to the window, overlooking the monorail tracks I between the buildings. This meant that she could look outside while lying down. She was tossing and turning because she couldn't sleep, and then she turned toward the window at 12:10 am. It was at this very point that she saw the killing right through the windows of the monorail that passed by..."

"She said that lights did go out immediately after the killing, but she did get a very good look at the boy just as he shot his father's Digimon. Now the way I see… that evidence can't be shaken approved otherwise. So what do you think…?"

Davis was actually at a loss for words. Completely lost! He was actually starting to believe that he was actually wrong about the way he voted after all.

Joe gazed at Yolei, "Well then what about you…?"

Yolei shook her head and hesitated. "Well gee… there's so much evidence. So much to sit on… I don't know what to think."

"Well what I'm thinking about and trying to clear is how you can vote for acquittal when the evidence given by the woman is plainly pointing to the guilt of the boy."

"And besides…" added TK. "You can throw out the rest of the evidence. The woman saw him do it! So what do you want?"

Yolei took sighed hard, "All right, fine! I'll change my vote. I vote Guilty again."

"Yolei…?" Ken said. "You can't just vote like that. Remember what I said to Tai?"

TK stood up, "I think perhaps you should change your vote too Ken. Come on now get with the winning team."

Ken stared up at him and made it clear that he wouldn't change his vote. Not like that.

TK had finally given up, "All right, that does it. I say we declare a hung jury. We may as well take it to the judge."

Nobody else agreed with him. "Come on! We're not going to go though all this again, and Yolei's is getting confused."

"Take it easy TK." Joe said. "You're acting like this is a contest." He checked his watch, it was 6:15. Then he took off his glasses, and sleepy began to rub his nose in a peculiar way. That's where Cody noticed something…

"You feeling okay Joe?" he asked.

Joe looked up, "Yeah, I'm okay…" he said. "Why do you ask?"

Cody grinned, "It was the way you were rubbing your nose… you just reminded of something I'm sure that might change a few things."

Joe decided that he couldn't argue with that, and he put his glasses back on. "Okay then… I'm listening."

Cody first wanted to lay out some examples. "So I was wondering if you could tell me why you rubbed your nose that way."

"Oh, come on… will you?" TK groaned.

Cody shot him a straight look, "If you don't mind TK I'm talking Joe. Please don't interrupt me again." Then he turned back to Joe and repeated his question. "Why were you rubbing your nose?"

Joe really didn't seem to know what the difference was, but he answered. "Well if you must know… I rubbed it because it was bothering me. It was itchy."

Cody nodded, "Yes… I see. Tell me… was it because of your glasses?"

Joe sighed irritable but answered, "Yes, it is." in calm manor.

Cody pointed out that the nose-grips on Joe's glasses made two markings on the sides of his nose from sitting there for too long. This prompted Yolei to look at her face in a compact mirror she dug out from her purse. She also had those two marks on her nose, "Whoa… I never noticed that before." she said.

Cody nodded, "See what I mean? You and Joe have marks on your noses because of your glasses…"

Tai was getting really bored with all this nonsense. "Cody, will just make your point already." he said irritably.

Cody grinned again and stated, "The woman who testified that she saw the killing… had those very _same marks_ on the sides of her nose too."

The others began to exchange remarks about Cody being right, as they all saw the woman's nose in court and she did have those marks. Even Joe began to realize that too…

Cody motioned everyone to settle down so he could finish. "Now I didn't think of it much then… but I did get a good look at her face, and I've going over it carefully in my mind. She had those marks, and she kept rubbing them awkwardly rubbing them in court."

Kari's head perked up, "He's right. She was doing that a lot."

"Yeah…" added Sora, "She rubbed her nose exactly like Joe did."

Cody then stated, "This woman was about in her late forties. She was making a large effort to look at least ten years younger for her first public appearance. She got a permanent, and her hair dyed. She used heavy make-up, and brand new clothes that really should have been worn by a younger woman. I could also see…no glasses. Some women do that, you know. See if you can tell what I'm getting at."

TK was confused. "What do you mean? You think she wears glasses, just because she was rubbing her nose?"

Kari sighed irritably, "Now look TK, she had those marks on her nose. I saw them."

"She's right TK…" Izzy said. "I saw the marks on her nose too."

TK felt like he was spinning in circles. "Well so what? She had dyed hair, new clothes and marks on her nose. What does it all mean?"

Cody asked Joe who would know the answer, "Could those marks be made by anything other than glasses?"

Joe was silent for a second and then shook his head, "No. They couldn't."

TK exclaimed in frustration, "I didn't see any marks on her nose."

Joe looked at him, "Well I did… and for the life of me, I can't see why I didn't think of it before."

"Well then shouldn't the lawyer have mentioned anything about it?"

Davis stepped into the conversation, "We're the ones who are trying to determine the case, TK. In fact the rest of us didn't think of this bit either."

"Well why would they actually allow the woman to be testified without her glasses?" TK asked.

"TK…" Sora said to him. "Some women don't like to wear their glasses in public because they think they spoil their looks. Sure Yolei may not feel that way, but some women do. I know I would…"

TK decided to give into that. "Well there is one other thing though." he said. "True she may not have worn them in public, but when she saw the boy kill his father's Digimon she was home alone. As in… not in public…"

Davis turned to question Joe and Yolei, "You guys don't wear you're glasses when you go to bed, do you?"

"No, I don't." Yolei answered.

"I don't either…" added Joe, "No one wears eyeglasses to bed. It's not natural, and painfully uncomfortable."

"Exactly right…" replied Davis. "Which obviously means the woman wasn't wearing them either while she was in bed trying to fall asleep."

"How do you know she wasn't wearing them?" TK asked.

Davis admitted that he was only guessing. "I'm also guessing that she didn't put her glasses on when she looked out through the window, and since the lights went off a split second after the murder was committed when she saw she wouldn't have had time to put them on."

"And get this… maybe she honestly thought she saw the boy commit the murder. I say she saw nothing but a blur."

TK, still as stubborn as ever, wasn't convinced, "How do you know all this?" he asked loudly. "How do you even know all this works out? Maybe they were just sunglasses! Maybe she's farsighted! Maybe she was even wearing contact-lenses like a lot of women do wear… but what are you trying to get at here?"

Davis stared at TK very seriously, "All I know is, the woman's eyesight is in question now, and from the looks of things, she couldn't possibly have seen the murder being committed clear enough."

"He's right…" added Ken. "From all that was said, she had to be able to identify a person sixty feet away at night, in the dark, through a monorail without glasses or contacts."

"You can't send someone off to die on crummy evidence like that." cried Mimi.

"Oh, don't give me that." grumbled TK. "I don't think that this woman made a mistake. She said she saw the boy, so it's not possible she could be wrong."

Davis decided to get up and take other opinions. He started with Yolei, "Do you think it's possible?" he asked. Yolei nodded, "It's big time possible." she answered, and she changed her vote. "Not Guilty."

Davis then went to see Matt by the water cooler. "Do you still think he's guilty?"

Matt with a shocked impression on his face, shook his head, "Not anymore. I'm with you now." he said while patted Davis shoulder. "Well I think he's guilty." Said TK, but Davis ignored her and questioned, "Do you Joe…?"

Joe turned and looked up at Davis. "No." he spoke softly, "I'm convinced… Not Guilty."

"Are you crazy Joe?" cried TK.

"No I'm not." Joe protested. "I have a reasonable doubt now."

"It's eleven to one." Cody said happily.

TK was running out of options. Somehow he had to try and convince the others to vote guilty again. "Well what about all the other evidence? The gun. The old-man. All that stuff…?"

"Well you said we could throw out all the other evidence." Mimi reminded him.

This was it. It was all down to just TK.. but the others knew that getting him to change his vote was not going to be easy.


	10. Detitication

_**Author's notes:**_

_**Hmm… only 9.10 chapters…**_

_**I was sort of hoping Id' be able to do it in 12 to make it seem more appropriate. Ah well…**_

**CHAPTER NINE**

Everyone just sat there starring at TK. "Well… now what do we do?" Tai asked.

"You're alone, TK." Davis pointed out.

"I know I'm alone…" TK said. "And frankly I don't care. It's my right." There was a brief moment of silence as TK could feel the eyes of all the others piercing through his skin as they gawked at him. "Well what do you want? I say he's guilty."

"We ant to hear your arguments." said Davis.

"I gave you my arguments. Several time over."

"We're not convinced. We want hear them again. You take as long as you need too."

TK couldn't believe this was happening to him, but he wasn't willing to give in so easily. "Everything that went on in that court… every single thing says he's guilty." He ranted. He stood by the windows, where the rain had finally stopped…

"Why, what about the old-man…? Take what he said! He lived there and heard everything said! "

"And what about the gun...? You found another one like it. The boy's gun falling through a hole in his pocket…? that's a laugh…"

"You claim the old-man couldn't have seen the boy, but he did, no matter how long it took. You can't prove he didn't get to the door in time! Maybe you can waste time dragging across the room, but you can't prove it!"

"And what about this stuff with the monorail, and the movies… Now there's a poor pathetic excuse. I'll bet you a-million bucks that I could remember the movies I'd see. I'm telling you everything's been TWISTED… and TURNED!"

"This stuff about the glasses and contacts…? HOW DO YOU KNOW SHE DIDN'T HAVE THEM ON? THIS WOMAN TESTIFIED IN COURT UNDER OATH!"

"You want facts… I'll give you facts, right here…" he slammed his wallet down on the table where he kept his notepad, _and the picture of his family before the divorce slipped out._

"Well that's it…!"

A brief moment of silence occurred with the others still gawking at him, still not convinced. "Well? Say something!" he snarled, but nobody said a thing.

TK couldn't believe this, the people whom he though were his friends were all against him just like that. "You lousy naive idiots…! How can you do this to me, and let an evil guy like that escape? I'm not going to be intimidated. I'm entitled to my opinion."

His gaze fell upon the picture on the table. He gazed angrily at his father, and grandfather who were the reason his family broke up in the first place. "Rotten evil…!" he growled stressfully. "I hate evil! I hate it! I HATE IT! I… HATE IT!!"

He lunged for the picture and furiously began to rip it to shreds in his hands. Then he stopped, and his emotions changed. He realized that all this time he had been letting his anger and hatred towards evil cloud his mind, and mess him up.

He couldn't even look up at the others as he slowly slumped into his seat with his face buried in his arms as he sank to the table sobbing softly. "No…. I can't do this." he sobbed. "Not Guilty."

"Not Guilty…!"

"Not--"

That was it. The vote was finally unanimous. Izzy knocked and the door and told they Bailiff that they were ready.

Everyone slowly got up from their seats and began grabbing their jackets from the closet as they left the room, but Davis and Kari stayed behind, as TK was still where he was, lying face down on the table crying in shame.

Kari walked over to the sobbing man and comforted him, while Davis grabbed TK's jacket form the closet, and helped him into it. "I'm so sorry I was mean to you guys." he said sniffling.

Davis put a comforting arm on his shoulder "Hey… you weren't yourself." he said kindly. "You did the right."

"Thank you TK…" Kari said, and she kissed him on the cheek.

TK smiled, and then they turned out the lights, and left the jury room.

…

The boy was declared not guilty, and free of charges. The case was dismissed, and just in time too. Tai just couldn't wait to get to the soccer-game.

Matt just wanted to get home before his cold got any worse.

As for Davis and Kari, they stopped on the steps outside of the courthouse and were gazing deeply into each other's eyes. "Davis… that was brave what you did." she said to him referring to the fact that he alone was able to help convince everyone, especially her, to change their vote. "Yeah… I guess it was."

"Well…?" his fiancée said, "Aren't you going say, "Here's lookin' at you,"?"

Davis laughed softly, "Nah… that's another story." but he did kiss her passionately. The moment was broken up when Yolei called to them, "Hey, you guys… come on!"

Hand in hand, Davis and Kari joined the others walking down the street into the night. It had been a very long but successful day.

_**THE END!**_

_**Author's dedication:**_

_**This fic dedicated to the honoring memories of…**_

_**Martin Balsam… John Fiedler… Lee J. Cobb… E.G Marshal… Jack Klugman… Edward Binns… Jack Warden… Henry Fonda… Joseph Sweeny… Ed Begley… George Voskovec… and Robert Webber.**_


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